After the glorious weather of last week when everybody was in shorts and some in short sleeve tops, today I was wrapped up in a winter jacket and long trousers, Jon in a similar fashion and only Sue sporting shorts. They make them hardy in Broughton!
Leaving Loddington at 9am, Sue already warmed up riding from Broughton, we set to meet Jon at Holcot for 9:10, grouped up we headed out on the Sywell Road, to the A43.
Steady zone 2
Heading down past Northampton towards Newport Pagnell with the gentle wind in our faces we maintained a steady pace keeping nicely in zone 2. The sharp turn off the main road and back towards Olney saw us pick up a following wind and our speed increased which was good as we could feel the weather changing and the expected rain was drawing ever closer.
Threat of rain
It was the threat of rain that encouraged our effort to go perhaps a little higher than we would do normally on a Wednesday but it meant that by the time the rain did arrive (and it did !!) we were only half an hour or so away from our respective homes. Jon complained about the mud on the road making his bike dirty but I’m sure he was secretly looking forward to cleaning it again when he got back home 😉
It’s funny, last week in the sunshine we all said how much we’d enjoyed the ride even with its little accident. This week, the weather was inclement yet we all agreed that we’d enjoyed a good ride and were making plans for next week’s ride and then how things will be over the remaining autumn and winter months.
Next week
I’ll post a ride for next week later this week once I’ve seen the weather forecast.
It’ll most likely be around the 100k mark so please let me know if you’re thinking of coming and that way I can arrange a route accordingly.
With the absence of a talented photographer whilst riding, here are some of the roads and villages we went through on route to give you a sample of our ride. Just imagine the same scene with grey skies.
Really enjoyed soaking up the miles even when we did catch up with the rain. I did think of Jon having to clean his bike again (having just cleaned it yesterday) as I hosed my bike down after being splattered by the mud on the road as we cycled past Tywell Hilss and Dales into Cranford.
Thank you Andy for a great route.